I know a lot of you don't like Street Rodder or magazines in general, but in order to ask my questions, I need to reference a series of tech articles in Street Rodder. They're building a '27 Roadster body from scratch and even if you dislike Street Rodder, you have to admire the level of work involved. The works being done by Ron Covell. Here's a link: http://www.streetrodderweb.com/tech/1201sr_scratch_building_a_roadster_body/ And a pic of the buck they made: Now, I know that it takes YEARS to get to this level of not only metal work, but wood working. My interest is in the tools and machines being used on the metal. Mainly, the English wheel. I've seen it used on TV and read about it, but could someone give a better idea what's going on? I realize the machine stretches and forms the metal by binding and pressing between the two wheels, but how do you control the bends and curves? How do you control the machine? Is the pressure regulated? I'm not even sure I'm using the right terminology. I'm entering my final semester of welding classes (grade avg. 4.0 thank you) and while I'm not presently interested in working for a shop, my interest is gaining knowledge of how metal "works". I hope that makes sense. I guess I should have put a link up for the metal work, but I can't seem to find it. So, could some of you metal gurus, whom I totally respect and admire, give me a description of what's going on. Please keep it layman's terms. I'm sure there's folks interested besides me. So, hopefully there's no anti-magazine drama. Thanks!
The English wheel shapes, as you mention, by stretching metal due to the pressure being exerted between the upper wheel and the lower anvil wheels. Anvils come in various radius (crowns) so you can control how much curve you will get by the crown of the anvil wheel that you choose. You also adjust the pressure between the two wheels as you work the piece by turning the adjustment screw. The more pressure you add the faster the metal will "move". Finally you can adjust your tracking patterns (where you are wheeling on the sheet)to give more shape to some areas and less to others.
This is a short clip from Ron Covell's english wheel DVD. Trust me this DVD is worth buying. I did and got a lot from it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omRlIBONJAM Ron's dvds are available here or on ebay. http://www.covell.biz/dvds.html In addition to metalmeet.com forum there is also http://www.allmetalshaping.com/
metal meet is a good site. As for your question with the English wheel. Yes, it stretches metal. You have a pressure adjustment for the anvils but you want to go slow and steady, tracking the sheet is imperative to getting good results. Start with a low crown anvil and work your way up. Usually I take an anvil that closely matches the piece I want to create and work my way up to it. You certainly don't want to go too aggressive too quick. It is also worth mentioning that you don't ever want to run the sheet to the very border, it takes longer to create a crown and ultimately stretches the whole sheet, so try not to run over the edges of the piece you are working on. I use a 3/4" border on my sheets so that the whole piece doesn't stretch, just the area I am working on. When you pull the sheet forward and bring it back, you want the most overlap as possible, if you take big tracks (spaces) between back and forth motions you will end up with low spots than can be hard to fix. Think about how you mow your lawn, you make a pass and then your next pass you cover about 1/2 the existing one. (if that makes any sense) The tighter the tracks the quicker things happen. I took the Step 1 and Step 2 courses with Lazze, on the Step 2 we built a 33/34 ford coupe from flat sheet metal in 4 days, with just 4 guys. I've got all his DVD's and books, very informative and easy to follow. If you know of a way to burn them and send them through email I could look at doing that for you. Finally, an English wheel is just one tool, what you need with it is a shrinker/stretcher to create the inside of outside curves to create the shapes.
Everything above plus.... Don't forget a good assortment of hand tools as well. Learning to move metal with a shot bag and planishing over steel forms is as critical as the best power hammer in town. Ferrari used to build beautiful aluminum sports car bodies and they hammered them over some hollowed tree stumps. These pics are well documented on here! I have about three good shaping hammers that I have polished to suit me and never are out of reach, along with another five or six for occasional use. Good dollies and mandrels are essential along with some good slapping hammers and bucks. Everybody I know who is a great metalshaper started making smaller parts by hand. After all, a body is really just a collection of smaller parts made into big stuff. I might add, I still haven't found a set of left and right shears that truly suit me!
If you get the chance go to one of Covell's classes and get hands on experience. They are not that expensive (or didn't used to be...). I'm lucky to be near Watsonville, but apparently he does then all over the country. He even demos how to get by without a English Wheel, just a hammer, bag and dolly.
Thanks, guys. I kind of felt I was going to be steered to Covell's DVD's. Guess I'll get them. I just wanted to confirm what I thought I gathered. The issue where they started froming panels is crazy. It just seems like the curves come out of no where, when I see it used. I guess that's the skill part. It also gives me the impression that the skill can't be learned from a video, but from hands on. Anyway, thanks for the lesson.
Fred, think of the metal like pizza dough that you're rolling out. If you roll the middle, the metal is thinned out, as it thins out it gets bigger. Becuase you're not touching the edges the metal rises creating your shape. J.
Hey, Today, there is probably more information available on metalshaping/working then at anytime in the past! You can take years outa the learning curve by study under someone who has actually made a living shaping and working metal. Some of the videos out there will actually answer many basic questions, and impart some knowledge, whyle others will take the place of sleeping tablets. It isn't until you've mashed, burnt & cut a finger or three, and your sholders & back get you askin' maybe I shoulda takin up golf instead, that the real skill building begins. I always have a good chuckel when I hear someone who's bought an e-wheel from the Chi-Comms, and think they will build a body for a '32 inna couple months Most of us started out building bowls, blisters & small patch panels, then moved up to larger more complex shaped panels. The on-line metalshaping sites are good sources for information and leads on get-togethers, but some of them have gotton alittle '' brown shirt '' in the past Be forwarned! metalshaping can be habit forming! " Do not reach greedily for the Kool-Aid "
I find that before one uses the wheel they should learn to rough into a shot bag and hand shrink with a tuck tool. After you have mastered these then move to the wheel. I have seen many discouraged with their first potato chip out of the wheel, especially after spending a sizeable amount on the tool. I know my work is sped up considerably when first I rough the shape then pull a few shrinks around the edge before wheeling.
Back when Tex Smith was publishing Hot Rod Mechanix I always looked forward to the articles by Ron Covell. His work was amazing and this is when we got our information from print instead of the internet. Thanks for the link Fred. HRP
Best thing to do is stop reading, find someone who will let you use their wheel to practice and have a go. I find I can read all day but learn faster by having a go at it. Someone should put that T buck on a chassis and drive it. For a metal man Ron sure does some neat woodwork.
Tin Man also makes a pretty good video called an American view of the English Wheel. He shows how you can straighten, flange, and even SHRINK (!!!) on a wheel. Watch the videos, learn the theory behind it in about 3 hours, and then take a lifetime to master it! Bought one 10 years or more ago, and still dont' feel I'm even mediocre in my skills.
Mindover here on the HAMB is a master metal shaper. David also has DVD's, check his signature. Here's a current thread of his: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=526153
Tfeverfred, Thanks! Youasked a question that I've wanted to ask for a long time. And thanks to all the guys who replied. With your answers I know that I can do this if I just get out there and try...starting with making bowls on a tree stump first!! lol Thanks to the HAMB for such great info and willingness to share! Paul
David's DVD is great since he shows you how to do all of it with simple hand tools. It is a lot of info packed into a single DVD and you don't need a lot of exspensive tools to get started. The guy's work is amazing. Hopefully his second DVD will be done soon. --louis
Wardog makes a good point. Some people I know buy one of the HF wheels and think they are going to zip out Walden quality panels in no time. Ain't gonna happen! A wheel is like any other tool, quality and setup are critical. If you are going to buy a wheel the least I would consider is maybe MetalAce or the equivalent. I personally have been saving for the Hoosier Profiles stuff which I consider to be among the best in the world. I justify the cost with the fact I use it most every day. I have reworked a few HF wheels and you can get them to function but you need somebody to set the wheel up and make the mods to make it work who knows wheels. Other wise your fighting a losing battle. Home Machinist magazine published an excellent article a while back on building a great wheel and there are several threads on here that show home built wheels that are fantastic. Bear in mind you can tell in a second which ones were built by guys who know the how and why of using one. If you start on a friends wheel, make sure it's not yellow and that it is set up properly. They are easy to use but take a lifetime to master and you learn something new every day. I will add, wide profile mandrels are more forgiving but limit what you can do somewhat. Oh x2 on that finger thing!
You might want to take a look at Lazze on YouTube he has a lot of interesting videos. Here's a link to his website http://www.lazzemetalshaping.com/in...ts/category_id=3/home_id=-1/mode=cat/cat3.htm Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Ron has a couple of DVD's out showing the construction of his roadster. Here is a review that I did on the first one: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=646713&highlight=dvd There were some good DVD mentioned on metalshaping; which I have in my collection. Here is another that is very good: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=841368&highlight=dvd
The Jalopy Journal
